The Woes of Gaara
by GhostlyPotato
Summary: Gaara's siblings have noticed that Gaara has grown distant since the chuunin exams.


The Woes of Gaara

A month and a half after the invasion of Konoha, Gaara hadn't said a word after saying sorry. He only came out of his room to use the bathroom or eat and even then, he barely ate. Gaara's face that gave nothing away stared at the food placed in front of him, usually with only one or two bites taken out of it. For not the first time, Temari and Kankuro made eye contact with each other, telling the other to try and talk to him. The first time one of them spoke, it was Temari and it was the first week after. "Your hair's getting long, Gaara." Temari tried to say offhandedly. "It's almost covering your eyes, do you want me to cut it for you?" Kankuro and Temari waited with baited breath for Gaara to respond. He never did.

What the both of them didn't understand was why Gaara didn't simply get up and leave. His stiff posture and intent eyes gave way to the fact that he didn't want to be there. But every night, even if he didn't touch his food whatsoever, he never went back to his room until both Kankuro and Temari were done eating. The second time that they spoke to Gaara was three days after the first. Kankuro gave it a shot this time. "So, Gaara, I've been working on a new puppet and I've been itching to show it off to someone. You wanna see it?" Gaara gave more of an indication than last time that he had heard one of his siblings speaking, by briefly glancing to Kankuro before quickly looking back at his plate. Again, though he looked severely uncomfortable, he didn't dare so much as move until Temari and Kankuro finished their meals.

A month after Konoha, Temari and Kankuro noticed how skinny Gaara looked, more so than usual. They knew it was a side effect of his newfound eating habits but they didn't know what to do to get him to open up to tell them why this drastic change happened. Temari began placing food outside of Gaara's door and knocking twice before walking away. He never ate it.

"What's been going on with Gaara lately?" Kankuro asked, not for the first time, as Temari returned to the living room. Kankuro was tinkering with one of his puppets and Temari picked up her fan to begin to polish it.

Temari looked at her reflection in her fan that she hadn't used in a month and a half. "I think he feels guilty." She said. It had been the subject that kept her up at night for over a month.

"Maybe." Kankuro said after giving it some thought. "You think it had to do with that fight he had with that whiskered kid? What was his name again?"

"Naruto, I think. I was thinking along the same lines."

"But would losing to a battle really provoke this big of change?" Kankuro was skeptical.

Temari shook her head in thought. "I couldn't really hear what he was saying, but it seemed like the kid was trying to tell Gaara something important. Something no one's ever told Gaara before."

"Whatever it was, he must've gotten through to him." Said Kankuro. "Have you noticed too that Gaara doesn't carry his sand twenty-four seven like he used to?"

"Or threatened to kill us at least once a day."

Kankuro nodded.

"He needs to know that we forgive him and that we're worried about him." Said Temari.

"I agree." Kankuro said. "At the end of the day he's still our little brother, and he should see that we know he's changed."

Temari stood up. "If he's not going to answer his door, then I'm walking in. Who knows what other way Gaara's punishing himself besides not eating?"

"Are you sure that's wise, Temari?" Asked Kankuro.

Temari shrugged. "Probably not, but I don't care anymore." She stalked off upstairs and Kankuro ended up following her. Temari's confidence wore off as she stood in front of Gaara's door.

"Are you going to knock?" Asked Kankuro, having no intention of doing it himself.

Temari said uncertainly, "Of course." Slowly, she raised her hand and after one more moment of hesitation, she knocked. No response. Temari knocked again. Still no response. She pondered knocking a third time but finding that incessant, she grabbed the door handle and opened the door. The room was dark and smelt musty, the kind of musty that went with not dusting the room for a while. The cacti that Gaara had on his windowsill were on the verge of dying which was saying something, since cacti didn't need much care. "Gaara?"

"Look." Kankuro pointed to a particularly dark corner of the room where, to their stomach churning worry, Gaara sat on the floor with his knees pulled up to his chest and his arms wrapped around his legs.

Temari slowly stepped in the room. "Gaara?" She repeated, slowly inching her way toward Gaara with Kankuro in tow. As Temari approached Gaara, she knelt down and placed a gentle hand on his bony shoulder. "Look at me, Gaara." When Gaara didn't respond, she gathered enough courage to pull a stern voice. "Now."

Slowly and reluctantly, Gaara turned around. Temari and Kankuro were taken aback. Gaara's usual stoic demeanor was gone and in its place, a young red-eyed, tear-stained boy. Kankuro and Temari sat properly on either side of Gaara, and pulled him into an (on Gaara's part) unexpected hug. Temari and Kankuro didn't know any other way on how to react to this foreign and heart wrenching look on Gaara's face. When they let go, Temari spoke softly. "We've forgiven you, Gaara. We forgave you all the way back the first time you apologized to us. Please open up to us."

Gaara's gaze turned from Temari to Kankuro.

"Go ahead. We've been waiting over a month to hear you speak again." Kankuro encouraged.

Gaara looked down at a spot on the floor. "I don't deserve your kindness." His voice was low and hoarse from lack of use. Temari and Kankuro heard though, nevertheless.

"What you've been doing lately proves that you do. We know you feel guilty, if you didn't you wouldn't be doing this." Informed Kankuro.

"We're your siblings and we love you." Temari smiled and poked the kanji on Gaara's forehead. "And we know you love us too." Gaara gave a watery half smile because yes, he did love them back. So much. "So stop being so recluse and talk to us. We're here to listen."

"Thank you." Mumbled Gaara. His voice may have been small but it was filled with so much appreciation. He may still have a long way to go but with his siblings by his side, Gaara knew it would be a bright journey.


End file.
